Dan Quinn knows his Washington Commanders’ defense will face Sean McVay’s mind and system on Sunday at Northwest Stadium at 1 p.m. ET.
It’s hard to believe for those of us who remember McVay well coaching on the Washington Redskins staff, but McVay this season is actually in his 10th season as the head coach of the Rams. Ten years doesn’t seem possible. Quinn, the Commanders head coach, was asked Wednesday at his press conference about the Rams’ passing offense and quarterback Matthew Stafford.
“They have a good system; there’s a good bit of bigger personnel groups that have some play action with that.” Quinn was referring to how McVay likes to run in 12 and 13 personnel. This means one running back with two tight ends (12) and one running back with three
tight ends (13). This forces defenses to prepare for the run game with that extra size on the offense. Yet, McVay then loves to go play-action out of it as well, making them very unpredictable.
“Sometimes that doesn’t feel the same as traditional drop back. It’s the decision-making process that Matthew (Stafford) can go to the right location against that blitz. So sometimes that can be a factor. But we know what he is capable of, for sure.”
Stafford with the sidearm to Davis Allen 😮💨
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Right now, though the Rams are 4-4, what might concern Quinn is that the Rams are still good enough; they own the best yardage differential in the NFL this season. That’s right: the Rams are No. 1, meaning they have outgained their opponents more than all 32 other teams.
You can bet Quinn also knows the Rams aren’t 6-2 or 7-1 because they are 26th out of 32 in takeaway/giveaway ratio. So the Commanders will again focus on the takeaway/giveaway ratio this Sunday, hoping to keep the ball out of the Rams’ effective offense.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' Dan Quinn respects challenge of facing Sean McVay
